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Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems
Emma copies / everything I do, / and sometimes / I don’t do / something / I might do / or really / want to do / because / I know / she is / always /watching / every single thing I do” (“Rode Model”). Slice-of-life poems catalog the ups and downs of a sibling relationship from big sister Jessica’s perspective. Jessica can be embarrassed or annoyed or angered by Emma, but those moments find balance—in this collection as in life—by Emma’s companionship, not to mention her appreciation and even adulation for her big sister. There’s a definite sense of story-making as the poems progress, with “Role Model” foreshadowing later events when Emma’s desire to be like her big sister results in a broken arm for Emma and a heavy heart for Jess, until her parents reassure her: “It was an accident.” Kristine O’Connell George deftly reveals the many sides of a sibling relationship, while the pen-and-ink and digital illustrations by Nancy Carpenter make fine use of facial expressions and body language to extend the feelings expressed in the poems. ©2011 Cooperative Children's Book Center
Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 5-9
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Formats:
Picture book
Poetry
Subjects:
Feelings/Emotions
Sisters
Publisher:
Clarion
Publish Year: 2011
Pages: 47
ISBN: 9780618428427
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 811 George